Remington 870 Express Tactical Magpul Shotgun Review

Remington Arms has a reputation for being one of the absolute best out there. And their 870 model is no exception. As a matter of fact, it’s been touted by Guns and Ammo magazine as one of the greatest shotguns of all-time! (By the way, the 870 is just one of three Remingtons on that list.)

Now, the Remington 870 has definitely evolved over the years, but that doesn’t mean it’s lost its edge. If anything, these guns have become lighter, more tactical, and more effective.

And when outfitted with Magpul furniture, Remington has taken an already outstanding shotgun and has made it better.

Remington 870 Express Tactical Magpul

MSRP~$565.00

Final Grade: A+

The History of the Remington 870

Once you purchase a Remington 870, you become a proud owner of a little slice of Remington history.

Back at the turn of the 20th century, Remington entered into the realm of pump action shotguns. However, their early pump action shotguns didn’t quite reach the heights that they wanted to. Their Remington Model 10 was extremely fragile, and although the later Model 31 was well-received…it didn’t really garner any sales.

But in 1950, Remington was going to flip the pump-action shotgun world on its head. They introduced the Remington 870. It was a reliable, rugged, and inexpensive shotgun. And the best part (for Remington anyway) was that it sold.

In 1973, Remington reached two million units sold, and just 10 years later broke the record for best selling pump action shotgun with 3 million units sold. For next few decades after, the 870 just kept selling with the 10 MILLIONTH model being sold in 2009.

Remington may have started out rough, but now their 870 dominates the pump-action shotgun world. And it doesn’t look like it’s slowing down anytime soon.

GUN Specs

Operating System

Pump Action

Guage/Bore

12 Guage

Weight

7.5 lbs

Overall Length

38.5″

Barrel Length

18.5″

Remington 870 Express Tactical Magpul Features

1. Magpul StockThis stock offers much needed adjustability to the 870 with its spacer system and recoil-reducing butt-pad. It also offers a unique grip ergonomics that may appeal to those who enjoy a pistol grip on their scattergun.

2. Rugged and Reliable ReceiverRemington increased the durability of their receivers by manufacturing the entire receiver out of a single billet of steel.

4. Tactical Magpul Fore EndThe Magpul Fore End is perfectly designed to help you maintain your grip. Also, if your lead hand does come off the fore end, it’s much easier to find again due to its longer grip than others.

Remington 870 Express Tactical Magpul – Our Take

If you like Remington 870s and modern designs (no wood), then you’ll LOVE the Remington 870 Magpul.

However, if you love Mossberg 500s and wood furniture, you’ll probably hate it.

Kudos to Remington to realize that Magpul has made some great upgrades for the 870 and that many of their customers were buying shotguns and paying for features they didn’t want only to spend money on the Magpul parts later.

This option gets you everything you need right out of the box and we absolutely LOVE it!

The simplicity of a pump-action shotgun and the awesome look and feel of the Magpul stock – what’s not to love?

Remington 870 Express Tactical Magpul Pros and Cons



Remington 870 reliability



Magpul furniture



The forend can get a bit slick

Report card

Reliability

It runs!

A

Accuracy

Accurate enough

A

Customization

The Magpul M-Lok lots allow for many accessories

A+

Ergonomics

We love the Magpul ergonomics

A+

Value

EXCELLENT

A+

Final Grade: A+

How to Fully Take Down and Reassemble Your Remington 870

As far as being able to take down, clean/lube, and reassemble your Remington 870 Magpul, it pretty much follows the same steps as other 870 models. This is one of the best guides on how to do just that step by step.

Our Top Upgrade Picks for the Remington 870 Magpul

When it comes to your shotgun, you should be able to upgrade and customize to fit your needs and wants. And there are definitely some options available when it comes to the Remington Versa Max Tactical. Here are some of our choice selections.

Best Shotgun Light Mount for the Remington 870 Magpul

Elzetta Shotgun Light Mount – This is a reliable mount to add a flashlight to your shotgun. This is particularly helpful if you are going to be using your gun for home defense.

Best Flashlight for the Remington 870 Magpul

Streamlight Protac HL – This flashlight has three different modes that you can cycle through. High, Low, and Strobe

Tac Shield Single Point Shock Sling – This is a single point sling system that comes equipped with two double release buckles, a Mil-Spec snap hook, and elastic silence sleeve.

The Remington 870 for Law Enforcement and Military Ops

The Remington 870 and its many variants (including the Express Tactical Magpul) is one of the most popular choices of service scattergun across the globe. Just in the US alone, the gun has been adopted by Border Patrol, the Secret Service, FBI, the US Marshall Service, and even the IRS! (Don’t know why we need to arm those guys… Those taxes are deadly enough as is.)

And the Remington 870 makes just as big of a splash overseas and for our neighbors to the North. At this rate, if Remington were to never make another model, they might just be ok. When it comes to a quality reliable shotgun, Remington really hit the target with the 870.

Reliability

Accuracy

Customization

Ergonomics

Value

About The Author

Roy Chesson is prior Navy with a specialty in international arms dealing for the US government across multiple countries. Having traveled the world and abided by ATT and ITAR, Roy has a unique background in legal as well as practical capabilities of weapons deployment and use. He now is a full-time writer and editor for Gun University and RocketFFL.

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